The invention concerns a self-expanding stent for transluminal implantation into a hollow organ. Narrowed hollow organs can be splinted and/or kept open by means of a self-expanding stent.
A stent of this type is disclosed in the document EP 0 901 353 B1.
The known stent permits radial expansion of vessel narrowings as well as splinting or keeping them open. In its tapering and stretched state, the stent is introduced into a hollow organ and radially expanded at the narrowed location of the hollow organ to ensure that the hollow organ assumes its original lumen at this location if possible permanently. For self-expansion, meshworks are conventionally used which can be processed into stents. The meshworks can be lengthened against their load-free initial structure. If lengthening or radial deformation is released, these known stents return into their initial state through radial extension. This effect is used for widening stenoses in hollow organs to prevent their function from being impaired if possible.